"I’m not interested."

Interviewer: Hi. Thank you for accepting my interview.

Hi.

Interviewer: Could you tell me when were you born?

Interviewer: You don’t need to say the exact year; just the decade will do, such as “’60s,” “’70s,” “’80s,” etc.

I was born in the ’70s.

Interviewer: The '70s. Could you tell me where you were born and grew up in China?

I lived in Daqing, Heilongjiang [Province], in northern China.

Interviewer: Have you heard of the historical incident, the Cultural Revolution? Are you able to remember the first time [you heard about it]?

I feel like I know the term “Cultural Revolution,” but I cannot remember when I first heard about it or knew this term.

My feeling is that, as I grew up, there must have been people who’d mention this term, including during class time.

However, I do not have much memory about when I first started encountering this term or knew what it was.

Interviewer: Ah. You just mentioned you were born in Daqing.

Interviewer: So, have you ever heard the slogan, “Industry learns from Daqing; Agriculture learns from Dazhai; the whole nation learns from the People’s Liberation Army of China”?

I’ve never heard it.

I feel like...when I was growing up, my parents rarely mentioned the Cultural Revolution or talked about [whether] they had experienced any…shock or suffering, or anything like that.

It seems like what they talked about more was the “three years of natural disaster.”

During that time, they never had enough to eat and tried every possible way to find food.

I have a deeper impression of this. It led to my parents both being really hardworking and thrifty.

However, I don’t have many memories regarding the Cultural Revolution.

Interviewer: So you mean that if they talked about any historical event with you, it would be the “three years of natural disasters,” right?

Yes. Also, they said that they were always eating potatoes and tree bark.

They taught us that we should cherish food and be satisfied with our current life, since we can buy whatever we want to eat these days.

Interviewer: In terms of the Cultural Revolution, they don’t have too many negative memories, right?

Right. At least, I don’t have any recollection that they ever discussed circumstances during the Cultural Revolution with me.

I feel like, actually, I don’t have much of an impression. I’m not sure when I started knowing [about] the Cultural Revolution. It could be I saw it on television.

I just don’t have much of an impression about the Cultural Revolution.

Interviewer: I see. The slogan I mentioned before—“Industry learns from Daqing…”—really left a deep impression on [my generation].

Interviewer: Daqing had very high historical position during the Cultural Revolution.

Interviewer: So, you were born in this place, but maybe you don’t have much impression about this, probably because you were born later.

Interviewer: We all had a really deep impression [of Daqing].

Interviewer: So when you said you’re from Daqing, [I immediately thought], “Industry learns from Daqing.”

Interviewer: Now, if people bring up [the Cultural Revolution], do you have an interest in understanding more about it?

Actually, I don’t have much interest.

Also, among the people around me, my parents and my classmates, no one ever spontaneously brings up the Cultural Revolution.

At least, around me, that’s how it is.

Interviewer: You also do not have many opportunities to understand more about it.

Interviewer: Probably you are not engaged in historical research, social sciences and humanities, is that right?

Right.

Interviewer: I am glad to meet an interviewee who is from Daqing.

Interviewer: Thank you very much for accepting our interview.

You’re welcome.